Rebel
by Fanimaniac
Summary: It's been nearly eighty years since the War. The Demon Thief has driven us out of our homes, and into the harsh, unforgiving desert. The fire in our hears has long since faded, and we make do with what little we have, but the war isn't over yet. I will rekindle those flames. But if I want to save anyone, I must become the Hero Farore neglected to send.


**This story takes place in the "Era without a Hero" timeline in the Legend of Zelda Series. **

_Seven years, eighty four months, 2,555 days._

_So much can happen in seven years. So much change. _

_Our lives were shattered. We had no home, no allies, many didn't have complete families anymore. Their lives burned to the ground, and all shreds of hope were torn from them._

_All it took was seven years._

_The Hero lost, and the last remaining Hylians were driven out of their homes by the fierce Gerudo. We were forced to live in the now abandoned fortresses and towns in the blistering heat of the Gerudo Desert. We were forced to make do with that little we had. We established a new government led by a clan of Elders who fought against the Gerudo in the war. The Demon Thief told them they can either be forced to live as outcasts in the desert, as they had, or be killed. If anyone is caught in Hyrule by the Gerudo our whole refuge will be killed.__  
_

_So we remained in the Desert. Resources were low and we became desperate, we began to send small scouting troops to Hyrule to get some supplies. _

_That's when the training began._

_We began to train our children to fight and be strong. Bloodline didn't matter anymore. We learned the hard way that only the strong survive. The strong get food. We began to fight our children against one another in a tournament. The winning child's family would be well-fed for that year. Thus, pressure was high on the new generations._

_We learned to attack first and ask questions later, we learned how to kill the weak without remorse. We grew deep into the void and we reinforced __ourselves to a strict but tactical society._

_That was Eighty Years ago..._

_When I was a young girl, my Great Grandmother would tell me stories about Hyrule. She would tell me the stories of the Goddesses, the legacy of the Triforce, and the Heroes chosen by Farore to protect the land. These Heroes were mighty and brave. They protected Hyrule with their lives. _

_"Grandma Zelda?"_

_She looked down at me and smiled._

_"Yes child?"_

_"Tell me the story about the Hero who saved the cloud people."_

_Her eyes would spark as I crawled into her lap to a comfortable position. _

_"First off, they aren't cloud people. How would you feel if other people would call us 'Sand people'?" A wicked smile came across her face and she tickled me gently._

_"Grandma!"_

_She told me the legacy of the Hero of Sky. The Hero of the Minish Cap, and the Hero of Four. I loved to hear Great Grandma Zelda's stories. _

_"Grandma Zelda?"_

_Her old and wrinkly face gently turned to me._

_"How come there was no hero in the War?" I asked. It seemed so strange the Goddesses sent Heroes in times of need, but there was no hero to help us during the fight against the Demon Thief._

_Her dazzling blue eyes darkened and her face turned sour. _

_"Shouldn't you be in bed?" She spat bitterly at me._

_I looked at her shocked. She never spoke to me in such a way before. I gave a hurt expression as I crawled out of her lap to my bed. I took one final glance back at her as she realized what she looked like. Her features softened and she made her way over to me to tuck me in._

_That, was fourteen years ago..._

_I always looked up to my Grandma Zelda. She was one of the six remaining survivors of the War. Her and the Elders. People shunned Grandma Zelda and dismissed her as being __old and senile. At the end of the line. In the past few months even my father began to ignore and shun her as well. Grandma Zelda used to call me her 'little princess'. Even in public, and I was horribly tormented for that. _

_Father used to tell me to ignore her because she became demented from living through the horrors of the War. She did strange things in front of lots of people. She prayed at random times of the day. She was seen as a __nuisance to the refuge. _

_Father told me to ignore her because she was old. That's one thing Grandma Zelda had working for her. Grandma Zelda was one of the six remaining survivors of the war, and, at ninety eight, was the oldest survivor in the refuge. No one really knows how Grandma Zelda and the Elders are still alive. I know it sounds harsh but, all of the Elders are over the ripe old age of ninety._

_The five remaining survivors of the War are the Elders. There was Elder Aventus, Elder Raava, Elder Shama, Elder Micah, and Elder Kai. They each control a specific component in our refuge. Elder Aventus was in charge of food and rations. He was responsible for commandeering the scouting missions to Hyrule for supplies. His grandson Vincent ran the missions.  
_

_Elder Raava ran the population. She pretty much controlled the women and how many kids they can have, and also the jobs people can hold based on their skills._

_Elder Shama aided doctors and nurses in our medic huts._

_Elder Micah ran economical virtues. We managed to make and find Rupees and he determines price of products. _

_Finally, Elder Kai ran defense. He was the one who started the idea of kids training from an early age to be strong. He was seen as cruel and cunning, and some say he was one of the old King's best soldiers near the end of the War._

_I always wondered why my Grandma Zelda __wasn't one of the Elders. Father again, would make comments any chance he got, to say she was old and senile. My Grandmother, whose name also was Zelda (I personally called her Ninnie), would sit in her rocking chair and listen to Great Grandma Zelda rant about how horrid our new society is, and how the Elders were running us to the ground. They used to scare me when they talked like that because it was forbidden to talk against the Elders like that. I guess they let it go because she was there during the reign of the old King. _

_When I was seven, Ninnie snuck me out to the forests of Hyrule. I remember being so scared, I thought someone for sure was going to catch us. But Ninnie told me to hush, that we'll be fine. She took me to a forest __meadow clearing and from that moment on, every week, she would take me there to learn the ways of the Sheikah. The Sheikah were a tribe of fierce warriors that died out when Ninnie was a little girl. They protected the old King and his family for generations. They blended with the night like deep shadows and fought using stealth and speed. I loved every minute of it.  
_

_It was no secret after that first day that I suddenly excelled in the rankings when I trained. People began to take notice of my sudden awareness in battle. People began to whisper and stare. Well… more than they already did. After the first year, our 'meetings' became more frequent. I remember when I was fourteen, Ninnie and I snuck Grandma Zelda out to Hyrule. Tears came to Grandma Zelda's eyes as the sweet wind kissed her face. When Grandma Zelda came to the forests, she taught me a rare and ancient form of fighting. Magic._

_Magic was by far the hardest method of attack I have ever tried to use. I had to focus all of my energy on one spot to use it. Then I had to force the energy out of my body and to the spot I wanted to strike. I remember the first time I tried it, all that came out of my hand was a small spark and a depressing- sounding zap. I was so excited to learn magic and when I failed that little trick, I cried._

_I remember Ninnie and Grandma Zelda __chuckling softly at me. After a while, it became a lot easier. I learned to levitate small objects, summon fairies, make fire and electricity with nothing but my hands, and teleportation. After I mastered these. Ninnie grabbed my arm and made me swear to never show my magic skills in public. I was concerned as to why but I brushed it aside, knowing it was for the better._

_After my magic training was finished, Ninnie stopped taking me to the forest. But even without her taking me, I still went. The forest was my sanctuary. I loved to hunt and gather small foods by myself. I would make tiny fires and practice my magic in the solitude and serenity of the forests. I never ventured farther before. And honestly, I don't plan on it. I just sat near the edge, against a tree, gazing out into the deep green fertility of the land. It took me away from the dreariness of life in the refuge. _

_I was never a fan of training in the refuge. Elder Kai had us drilled constantly. Sparring. For what? When the Gerudo come back we can defend ourselves for five minutes? No matter. After that first day in Hyrule, plus my smaller frame, I was able to nimbly navigate and dodge attacks in the arena. It was in the arena that I met my only friend, Aretino._

_Aretino was the great grandson of Elder Aventus. He excelled in the arena as well. He was the only person who didn't badger my Grandma Zelda for being crazy. He had tanned skin, deep ebony eyes, and spiky black hair that was kept at a short __length. He was my best friend since I was seven. Even though he was my only friend, I never told him about the forest. _

_Aretino and I sparred together on a regular basis. I enjoyed sparring with him, but I would always tire him out with some of my sheikah training. When I was sixteen, I taught him some of the Sheikah ways. _

_After I taught him that, we trained in both Sheikah and tactical fighting in the arena to prepare for the tournament. We grew closer, and the gossip got louder. _

_"Did you see Elder Aventus' great grandson with the Harkinian girl?" _

_"What do you think Elder Aventus is going to do about it?"_

_"Harkinian? Isn't that the family with the crazy old woman who prays to who knows what all day?"_

_"Yeah its something __isn't it? A Harkinian. humph!"_

_The list goes on..._

_Many disliked the friendly relationship I had with Aretino. He was average __intelligence, I was smart. He was strong, I was not. He was popular, and well… yeah..._

_My friendship with Aretino didn't help any of my friend problems. In fact, they made it worse. I was nearly tormented by all the girls that wanted to be close to him. And I was bullied constantly, not like I really even wanted friends. I had Aretino, and the forests of Hyrule. That is all I need. _

_And then… there was Jade._

_Jade Zitterman was by far the worst person in the world. She is the biggest, strongest, most aggravating person and she knows it. She had pale, white skin that was riddled with battle scars. Her unusually bright red hair cascaded down her shoulders, ending at the middle of her back, with piercing emerald crystal eyes. She was the dominator in women's sparring and has killed three kids in the arena. One when she was only five years old. She was ruthless and cruel. Some say she was distantly related to Elder Kai, and I believe it too. She constantly harasses people, and bullies them._

_Jade also has a 'clan' called the Zoorask, run by her and a mean, nasty guy named Lars. The Zoorask are the biggest team/clan in the refuge. Nearly every person under the age of eighteen was in her clan. In order to be in the Zoorask clan, you have to meet them at an undisclosed location in the dead of night, and let them beat you within an inch of your life. That was their initiation. _

_I remember feeling so lonely at times that I once considered joining Jade's clan._

_"Like we would ever accept you, Harkinian."_

_"Killing you would be your initiation."_

_That was when I met Aretino. He showed me there was still life in the hopelessness of society. Now, With the Tournament coming up, I must show that I don't need Jade to control me. I can make my own choices, regardless of my life standings.__  
_

_I am, Isabell Harkinian._


End file.
